


less of a thinking man

by blastellanos



Category: Baseball RPF
Genre: M/M, [shrug emoji]
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-29
Updated: 2018-06-29
Packaged: 2019-05-30 05:14:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15089768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blastellanos/pseuds/blastellanos
Summary: After the post game interview, Nick notices that Leonys is still moving somewhat gingerly.





	less of a thinking man

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a story about a sensual massage and then it turned out to be not that so. :/

After the post game interview, Nick notices that Leonys is still moving somewhat gingerly. He knows that everyone feels a little sore after a game, along with the injured pride of a loss. Especially in this skid. 

Nick, himself, had had an okay game. It's easy to get down on the fact that other people hadn't been able to capitalize on his performance but at the same time -- the damage wasn't as bad as it could have been. 

Still, he looks at Twitter in passing enough to know that everyone is freaking the fuck out about the fact that they're on a losing skid. People crying for Gardy to be fired, for the team to just tank -- a bunch of idiots, honestly. 

Nick checks his phone after changing into a soft t-shirt and jeans, sees that his dad has taken Liam down to Miami. So he's free for the night. Jess is in California for her cousin's wedding. 

He wanders over and leans against the empty locker near Leonys, he seems a little stuck, so Nick helps him get his shirt over his head and rubs a little between his shoulder blades. 

"Come over tonight." Nick says. Leonys raises his brows but nods. 

It's sort of what they do. They don't really talk about it. It's not the next great love story. Just sometimes they get together and -- ease the sorrow together. Nick is sensitive, he gets in his head sometimes, thinks about things. 

Leonys, not as much, and he helps quiet the bubble of noise in Nick's head, that sounds like rushing water as he goes over a loss in his mind again and again like reviewing game film. 

Leonys cares about the game, about wins, about everything that happens. But he seems able to weather it better. But for Nick, this time, it isn't about the loss. 

Nick smiles at him and Leonys's dark eyes look bright, near feverish for a moment, like Nick's smile is a promise of something more to come. 

Which isn't wrong. 

*

Nick gets back to his place first and leaves the door unlocked and the porch light on. Nick quickly flips the lights on and makes sure the fridge is stocked with cold drinks. 

He adds bottles of water and contemplates throwing on a frozen pizza. He thinks about Jess, about how he's honestly doing the same things he'd usually do with her, and pushes it out of his head. 

(There's a lot of mistakes that Nick knows he's still making. That he wishes he could stop -- he loves Jess, but he'd loved Vanessa too, but that doesn't make this stop. He still secretly gets together with people and he keeps it quiet. Technically one person.) 

Leonys is special though. Jess is too and he thinks he might marry her someday, but this is important too. Leonys is important in ways he can't quantify. 

They haven't known each other long enough.

It's not like it'd been with Julio. He thinks about the texts he has yet to answer from him and then realizes he needs this too. His mind is going to go off the rails. 

Leonys arrives about twenty minutes after, with Chinese food, and Nick wonders what it all means. 

But Leonys silences the crazy flutter of Nick's mind, pressing him back against the foyer wall and pressing their mouths together. 

Nick clutches at his biceps until his knuckles hurt and Leonys kisses him until he can't breathe. Then slips back away leaving Nick feeling like he's run a marathon, panting and with his mind running wild and free. 

They'll get there. 

They sit on the couch watching the Dodgers. It's almost intimate, or romantic, or whatever words people use for the quiet companionship of sharing food and interests in a dimly lit living room. 

He thinks about the way Leonys kisses him and his mouth tingles and his heart feels like a jackhammer. In periphery, Leonys shifts and grimaces and Nick remembers why he invited him over. 

He sets down the container of rice and turns towards Leonys. 

"C'mere." Nick says. Leonys laughs and it's soft and Nick has a feeling like he should rub at his chest, like maybe the tension will ease. 

Leonys does though, setting his beer and food down. Nick helps Leonys take his shirt off and sees the beginning of a bruise on his shoulder. Nick takes him in. 

"Hurts." Leonys says, breaking the silence and Nick nods a little and smoothes his fingertips over the red marks there. 

Nick slides in closer and brushes his mouth over the curve of Leonys's shoulder. He feels -- he wishes he knew what he felt. What the catch in his chest means. He wishes he could explain why he was so happy and in love with Jess and still feels this, right now. 

"I'll take care of you." Nick says. It sounds more intense than it should be. It makes him almost uncomfortable. He hopes Leonys doesn't notice. 

Nick's fingers press into the tense muscle there. He hears the sharp inhale of breath and Nick tries to soothe him, rubbing his free hand over Leonys's short cropped hair. 

It feels like too much. It feels like not enough. Nick sighs a little and then chews his lower lip as he keeps rubbing the tension out of Leonys's shoulder. Where the bruise is undoubtedly going to form, where it might hurt for a few days after but he'll be okay. 

It could have been worse. Many people had broken things, making catches like that. But Leonys is just a little bruised up, just a little battered-- Nick can ease his pain a little. He presses his mouth to his throat, and closes his eyes as he does. 

He, for a moment, just listens to Leonys breathe. Just feels the beat of his heart. 

"You no have to do this." Leonys's voice is soft and Nick frowns. He presses his forehead to Leonys's neck. 

He feels miniscule in the face of big, overwhelming feelings. 

" _quierdo_." Nick mumbles and feels his face grow hot and it's embarrassing. Maybe he shouldn't be embarrassed. He notices the way Leonys nearly stops breathing and Nick wonders-- maybe he's said too much.

He's always fucking doing that. 

"Nicholas." Leonys's tone is gentle. But gentle in the same way that he's heard others say his name. Nick feels the blood run through his veins like ice water. 

"Nevermind, nevermind," Nick says quickly and he digs his nails into where he's resting his hand against Leonys's good shoulder, digs until he hears Leonys his in a little breath, pleasured in a way that's familiar to Nick. 

Nick's a leader. He puts them back on even keel. He shoulders this, lets the disappointment roll off his back and focuses on putting up the team. 

"You don't--"

"Shush." Nick opens his mouth against Leonys's neck and presses a gentle kiss there, before he digs his teeth in. 

Nick knows what he feels and what he thinks, but he also knows it doesn't matter. He'll do what's best for the team. And that's not having whatever moment he feels like having. That's moving on. That's pushing past this and making sure that Leonys is better for tomorrow. 

They need him. 

Nick pulls back and goes back to rubbing gently at Leonys's shoulder, feeling the warmth of his skin, listening to him breathe. And he tries not to think about anything except focusing on that. He digs in a little harder and listens to the crack of the bat from the TV. 

He slides in closer, until he can press Leonys down on to his stomach, he looks at the curve of his spine, where his skin is covered by the slacks he's wearing, and what he could do-- what Leonys would let him do. Where he could pretend, for a moment, that everything was okay. 

Instead, he settles in and works on rubbing out the kinks in Leonys's shoulders. 

Tomorrow, it'll be another day.


End file.
